1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dental implant technology and more particularly, to a restorable zirconium dioxide-based one piece dental implant.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, dental implant surgery is to embed an implant into the patient's gum, and then to fasten an abutment to the top side of the implant with a screw, and then to install a crown to the abutment after the wound is healed.
Nowadays, one piece dental implant design is available. A one piece dental implant has the implant and the abutment made in one piece, facilitating dental implant surgery.
Conventional dental implants are commonly prepared by using a titanium-based material. A titanium-based material exhibits an iron-gray color and has a hard texture A titanium-based implant can provide a screw hole for the mounting of a screw to affix an abutment to the top side of the implant. Related dental implant designs are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 7,396,231 entitled “Flared implant extender for endosseous dental implants” and US Application Publication 2008-0261175, entitled “Dental implant”.
A new technology is known using zirconium dioxide to prepare a dental implant mating the white color of natural teeth. Since a zirconium dioxide dental implant causes a sense of beauty, it is beginning to be used. However, due to fragile characteristic, a zirconium dioxide-based material cannot be secondarily processed to provide a screw hole for the mounting of a screw to affix an abutment. Thus, a zirconium dioxide-based dental implant can only be made in one piece.
When a zirconium dioxide-based dental implant breaks accidentally or after a long use, the separated crown cannot be used again. When this condition occurs, the residual implant root must be removed from the patient's gum for installation of a new implant. This situation brings great harm and pain to the patient. An improvement in this regard is necessary.
Further, post and core technology has been intensively used in dental surgery. If the tooth structure is insufficient for the installation of a crown due to structural damage, spoil or breaking, post and core technology can be employed to restore the tooth structure for the installation of a crown. However, post and core technology has not yet been used in implant root structure.